site.btaBulgarian President to Turkish Foreign Minister: Expanding Bilateral Connectivity Is Investment in Region's Development

Expanding connectivity between Bulgaria and Turkiye is an investment in the development of the whole region, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the head of State's press secretariat said on Saturday.

The President underlined the positive results of the implementation of the agreements reached at the highest level to increase the capacity of the Kapitan Andreyevo-Kapakule border control checkpoint. Radev also highlighted the need to speed up the construction of a new railway link between the two countries, including with financial support from the European Union.

The sides agreed that the traditional goodneighbourly and friendly relations between Bulgaria and Turkiye create a favourable basis for the subsequent upgrading of the bilateral partnership. Radev underlined the importance of Bulgaria's initiative to transfer green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkiye, which is of interest to the whole region. The two sides also discussed projects for the construction of nuclear power plants in the two countries, the development of electricity storage capacities, and the transit of energy resources to Europe.

Bulgaria and Turkiye connect Europe and Asia not only through transport and energy corridors, but also in terms of information transfer. Therefore, both countries are also interested in deepening the partnership in the construction and development of the digital corridors that pass through Bulgaria and Turkiye, the press release reads.